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(No ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F' W. GHEETHAM.

ATTAGHING WIRE 0R SPRINGS TO HAT LEATHERS, w.

No. 319,561. PatentedJune 9k'1885.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I'. W. GHEETHAM.

ATTAGHING WIRE 0R SPRINGS TO HAT LEATHERS, &c. No. 319,561. l Patented June 9, 1885.

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FREDERICK W. CHEETHAM, OF HYDE, COUNTY OE CHESTER, ENGLAND.

ATTACHING WERE OR SPRINGS TO HAT-LEATHERS, &.C..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,561, dated June 9,1885. 'I

Application filed June l0, 1884. (No model.) Patented in England May 2f), 1881, No. 8,366 in France June 15, 1884, No. 162,975 in Belgium June 27, 1884, No. 65,596, and in Germany July 2l, 1884, No.30,474.

To all whom it may concern.-

'Be it known that I, FREDERICK WILLIAM CHEETHAM, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Hyde, in the county of Chester, England, have invented an Improvementin Attaching Wire or Springs to Hat-Leathers, &c., (for which I have obtained British Patent No. 8,366, dated May 29, 1884; French Patent No. 162,975, `dated June 15, 1884; German Patent No. 30,474, dated July 21, 18841, and Belgian Patent No. 65,596, dated June 2,7, 1884,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to attaching wire or other springs to the edges of the leathers or pads (sometimes called swcat-bands) of hats, the wire or spring being attached without the use of the folded covering-strip usually,

employed, and without passing the thread or stitches around the outside of the spring. For this purpose I employ a spring made of wire, whalebone, cane, reed, or other suitable substance enveloped in a skin or covering of inohair or other thread braided thereon by means of an ordinary circular braiding machine. This covered wire or other spring' is sewed to one side of the leather at a short distance from the edge thereof, as hereinafter described, and is then turned back over the stitches into its proper position at the extreme edge of the leather, producing the appearance of handwhipping without the thread or stitches passing round the outside of the spring.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an enlarged side View, and Fig. 2 is a crosssection, illustrating the manner inwhich the covered wire or spring c is first stitched onto the side of the leather b b near to one edge thereof, and Fig. 3 shows similar views of the attached spring after it has been turned over4 onto the extreme edge of the leather. Fig. f1 is a view of a guide which maybe used in turning over the covered springonto the edge of the leather, Fig. 5, a side view of a machine which may be used in carrying out my inven tion. Fig. Gis a plan view of the same. Fig. 7 is a reversed side view, and Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the feed-rollers and guide, the latter in section.

S0 far as the actual stitching mechanism is concerned I may make use of anysuitable machine, but prefer to employ the ordinary glove-stitching machine, sufficient of which is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 to make clear my invention, c being the reciprocating needle, d the hook, and ef the two feed-rollers.

In order to allow of the covered spring being flanged or turned over with the edge of the leather and to give it the required set, I make the front feed-roller, e, of rather larger diameter than the back feedroller, f, so as to feed the covered spring rather faster than the leather.

. I attach to the machine, in front of and beg tween the two rollers, a guide, g, of the peculiar construction shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8. Ihis guide has on its under side a notch, 7L, to receive and guide the upper edge of the leather b, and a hole, lt', is formed in the guide to re` ceive the covered spring a, and guide it into the required position alongside the leather about one-sixteenth of an inch below the edge of the latter. The spring is held against the leather by the pressure of the front roller, e, at such a height that the said springis just below the point of the needle; but the latter in moving forward always passes with certainty through the skin or covering above the spring at each stitch, and by these means the covered y spring is securely sewed to the leather, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. I prefer, also, to attach to any convenient part of the machine a deliveryguide, 7c k, Figs. 6 and 8, for the purpose of delivering the stitched work at the required curve, and this guide c,by pressing downward that part of the work which hasalready been stitched, raises up against the guide g that portion of the leatherI in front of the feed-rolls, so that little or no attention is required to the feeding of the machine except just at the commencement of stitching each leather.

Instead of a glove stitching machine, any other suitable seaming-machine may be employed, provided the stitching devices will v combine with the peculiarly-constructed guide g to form the stitches over the edge of the leather and through the skin or covering of the spring above the spring itself, and thence through the leather, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the covered spring hasbeen thus sewed to the leather, the spring is turned or forced back over the stitches into the required posi- IOO tion at the extreme edge of the leather, as shown in Fig. 3. This may be donebyahandtool on an ordinary table-bench; but I prefer to effect this turning over of the covered spring by means of a guide constructed as shown in Fig. 4, and attached in front of the rollers to the ordinary Hanging-machine employed for il'anging or turning over the edge of the leather previously to sewing it into the hat, so that the two operations of turning back the covered spring and turning over the edge of the leather may be accomplished at one and the same time.

It will be understood that other devices and combinations of mechanism than those above described may be used in carrying out myinvention, the machine described, however, being theone preferred.

I claim as my invention- The method herein described of securing covered wire or other springs to the sweat- 2o bands of hats, said method consisting in first stitching the covered spring to the side of the band by stitches passing through and over the edge of the band', and then turning the stitched spring into position on the extreme edge of 25 the band, substantiallyvas set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

F. W. CHEETHAM.

Witnesses:

GEORGE DAVIEs, JNO. HUGHEs. 

